“What are We Gonna do Now?” (a Cavs Free Agency Primer)

Well, the NBA free agency courtship period started at midnight, and the current Cavs roster currently doesn’t look much better than the ones that we’ve been forced to watch for the last four years. But, last night, the Cavs did get Kyrie Irving to agree to a five year max extension for $90 million dollars, which kicks in after this season. (More on that in a future post). For now, let’s take a look at some of the Cavs free agent options. I’ve tried to inform my opinions with the probability that the players come to the Cavs and their RAPM stats from 2014 and earlier. Here’s the Cavs current depth chart. That’s a lot of contracts.

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

PG

Kyrie irving

Jarrett Jack

Matthew Dellavedova

SG

Dion Waiters

Sergey Karasev

Joe Harris

SF

Andrew Wiggins

Carrick Felix

Scotty Hopson

PF

Tristan Thompson

Anthony Bennett

Dwight Powell

C

Anderson Varejao

Tyler Zeller

Brendan Haywood

The Cavs’ Cap Situation

So judging by that, the Cavs have anywhere between $12 and $18 million if they renounce every non-guaranteed contract. Clearly they have some players to clear out and they also have more than a couple trade chips.

Group 1 Free Agents: LeBron James

Obviously, I don’t have to say that LeBron is the big domino that every team in the NBA would re-arrange their entire roster to acquire. News out of Miami is sparse, but apparently, he, Bosh, and Wade have all opted out of their contracts. The fact that Wade, with only one and a half functioning knees, opted out of a two year $42 million dollar dear tells you that a wink-wink/nod-nod deal is in place for Wade to make the same or money over a longer period (or under the table). The odds are long that LeBron is returning to the shores of Lake Eerie, but he’s so good that the Cavs must explore the option. If he returns, the rest of this article is mostly moot.

Group 2: Never Going to Sign with Cleveland (well, unless LeBron is here, then one might)

Group 3: The Cavs own Free Agents

C.J. Miles, Luol Deng, and Spencer Hawes all provide varying levels of efficiency. C.J. and Luol were actually two of the better Cavs last year when it comes to 2014 RAPM. In his time with the Cavs and the Bulls, Deng posted a very good 2.84 RAPM, with a .5 offensive split and a 2.33 defensive split. C.J. provided a 1.05 RAPM and a 2.95 SWAgR (or just about three wins). The Cavs were better with each player on the floor than without on offense and defense. In April, Tom penned an article that explored the efficiency of different lineup combinations for the Cavs. Both players were in some of the best two man lineups for the Cavs. Retaining Miles as a bench player should be a priority after the primary tier free agents are gone. A two or three year deal at $2.5-4 million per year sounds appropriate. Sadly, Miles is rumored to be meeting with the Pacers. Deng, while an interesting option at small forward, probably remains too injury prone to continue at that position for the Cavs at a salary of over $10 million a year, additionally, I’m sure the Cavs want to commit minutes to Wiggins. Deng is a nice fall-back option, but probably won’t remain with the Cleveland.

Miles had a 1.02 RAPM with a .76 offensive split, a 16 PER and .435/.393/.853 shooting splits. Despite a fluke ankle injury, Miles was one of the Cavs best players last year.

Hawes, on the other hand, was not very good on the Sixers, and not much better on the Cavs His -2.98 RAPM in 2470 minutes was downright trashy. Sure, much of that was caused by how putrid the Sixers were, but he was -97 in 780 minutes with the Cavs. For a look at what Spencer might bring in a more stable situation, take a look at him under the more defensive minded Doug Collins in 2013, and 2012, when he posted -3.30 and -3.35 RAPM scores. Yikes. Hawes allowed opponents to shoot 56% at the rim in a Cavs uniform, too. Hawes giveth and Hawes taketh away. Spencer has value as a floor spacer and a passer, but perhaps his inability to contribute around the basket on offense, and his shortcomings as an interior defender produce a negative net effect. Still, he integrated well with his teammates, and perhaps his positives can be enhanced and his negatives mitigated. Maybe his reputation can be salvaged. Truthfully, I’d rather give his minutes to Zeller, or have Ryan Kelly at a fourth the price.

Group 4. The Restricted Free Agents

There are a large number of high value restricted free agents this year. I’ve grouped them into tiers

Tier A: Their teams will probably match any offer they receive: Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe, Chandler Parsons, Gordon Hayward. Any offer sheet to these guys will tie up the cap space of the Cavs for three days, starting July 8th, while the other team decides to match or negotiate a trade. Going after any of these guys is risky because it wastes the Cavs’ time while those players probably will be retained at all costs, unless the Cavs severely overpay. If the Cavs have no other options, signing one of these guys to an offer sheet can be a good way to tie up a rival’s cap space for years and make them overpay, much as Minnesota did with Nic Batum a couple of years ago.

Tier B: These are players I’ve identified as good value RFAs whose teams may not be able to afford or want to keep.

Avery Bradley: a very solid defensive combo guard with a 1.12 RAPM in 2014, but with injury issues. It would probably take a lot to get Boston to not match an offer sheet, and he’d add to the Cavs glut of guards, but if that glut can be cleared out a bit, he’d make a solid third or fourth guard as he plays unrelenting defense and his offense is passable.

Ryan Kelly: a 6’11” undrafted free agent rookie for the Lakers last year, Kelly played just below NBA replacement level with a 12.67 PER, and a -1.12 RAPM. But those aren’t bad numbers for a rookie. And Kelly shot .339 from three and showed a propensity for steals and blocks at L.A.’s fast pace last year. He also lit up the Cavs for 26 on February 5th. Honestly, if you want a floor stretching big, it makes much more sense to get 90% of the production of Spencer Hawes at a much cheaper price. L.A. will probably have too much money tied up in other players to keep him.

P.J. Tucker: the 29 year old basketball journeyman caught on with the Suns in 12-13 and had a very nice year in 13-14, posting a positive RAPM of .38 in just under 2500 minutes. He is only 6’6″, which is small for the three spot, but he shot .387 from three and and dropped 9.6 points, 1.4 steals, and 6.5 rebounds in thirty minutes a night, with his best areas being from the corners. He would be a solid backup at the wing spot if the Cavs can’t re-sign Miles. The Suns have talked well of him, so prying him away might take $5 million plus.

Isaiah Thomas: the waterbug guard from Sacramento posted a 1.89 ORAPM and a DRAPM of -.23 which, considering his size is respectable. Still, unless Sacramento gets a big upgrade at the point, he’s staying. Also, he doesn’t really fit on the Cavs.

Patrick Patterson: has an extensive body of work in four years as an NBA stretch four, and really broke out in the playoffs for Toronto as a key role player when he averaged 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds to go along with .542/.389/.778 shooting splits. Patterson had a 1.42 RAPM last year and shot .364 from three in the regular season, including 59% around the basket. He would be a very effective four man to provide spacing for the Cavs, but as a rebounder he’s below average for his position.

Patrick Patterson Shot Chart

Group 5. Unrestricted Free Agents

This year’s UFA class contains a lot of role players and very few high productivity players looking to to change teams. Let’s take a look at some of the role players who could help the Cavs.

Anthony Tolliver: Another stretch four, Tolliver had a solid season as a backup with the Hornets, playing positional defense and being a three point specialist on offense. He posted a .420 3P% and scored 6.1 with 2.6 boards in 20 minutes a night. He had a 1.12 RAPM this past year, a -.49 in 2013, and a .05 in 2012, so it’s not like these numbers came from out of nowhere. He’s not a great rebounder, but he is a WWPD (What Would Popovich Do?) style bench player.

Shaun Livingston: You know him as a member of the Herculoids, and as a guy who could have been playing for Cleveland last year. Livingston is an average RAPM player at -.82. He can’t shoot threes. And he isn’t the greatest pick-and-roll point guard. What he is though, is a great passer, a Swiss Army Knife (can play three positions at 6’7″), a solid veteran , and a guy who can get you easy buckets in the post. It was a mistake letting Livingston go the first time. The Cavs should find a way to bring him back if they move Jack.

Josh McRoberts: Tom is a fan. I just think he had a good year. McRoberts posted a -.28 RAPM which isn’t awful, but isn’t great. Another stretch four, McRobert’s skill is his passing. Josh averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists with only 1.1 turnovers in thirty minutes and shot .436/.361/.729. He’s a good player, but a below average defender. At 27, McRoberts wouldn’t be a bad bench big, and would be a solid role player, but on the wrong team (Orlando in 12-13) he’s a disaster.

Nick Young: The primary beneficiary of the Mike D’Antoni era in L.A., the 6’7″ small forward’s probably staying put. He posted a -.27 RAPM with a .80 offensive split, and a 16 PER to go along with .435/.386/.825 shooting splits and shot around four free throws a game. He’s a small forward who can get you some points, and wasn’t the worst on defense. L.A. has a lot of free agents who owe Mike a commission, and he’s the best of them.

Jeff Adrien: a 6’7″ bruiser journeyman power forward form Milwaukee. He probably has the lowest RAPM on this list at -1.30 with a DRAPM of -1.23. Why is he here? Because he’s an elite rebounder who had an 18% total rebound rate and a WS/48 of .134 . He shot .520 from the field, and .639 from the free throw line and had .7 blocks per game in 18 minutes. Basically, for the cost of a veteran minimum, you could get a guy who does everything Tristan Thompson does (-2.03 RAPM), but does it better.

Al-Faruq Aminu: played for the Pelicans last year, and can guard threes and fours as a defensive specialist and is not a disaster on offense. At 6’9″, 215, and only 23 years old, he still has upside, and is a good rebounder. His PER was 13.19 with 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 25 minutes. His RAPM was .12 with a .78 DRAPM. Aminu can finish around the basket, and has shown a slight proficiency for corner threes. If his shot can be fixed (.292 career from three), he could make a serviceable 3D player. Even without that, a defensive bench player who can guard threes and fours is nothing to sneeze at.

Anthony Morrow: another Pelican, Morrow is one of the league’s best three point specialist and had a very nice year for the Pelicans. He shot a BLISTERING .451 from three to with shooting splits of .458/.451/.828 for 8.4 points a game in 18.4 minutes. A 6’5″ wing, Morrow had a -.09 RAPM and 1.18 ORAPM. He’s been providing positive ORAPM for most of his career, and is a very capable sub who can help the Cavs finish games. He should be high on their list if they want to add shooting.

Channing Frye: he’ll be in high demand after the first tier of free agents this summer, and odds are he re-signs with Phoenix. Frye provided very good ORAPM last year at 2.30 and was good enough on defense that he didn’t hurt his team (.02 DRAPM). Frye is a 6’11” stretch four/five who shot .432/.370/.821 for 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. Channing also provided the comeback story of the year last year, as he had missed all of the previous season due to surgery for an enlarged heart that was performed at Cleveland Clinic. If Cleveland strikes out on the top tier free agents, would they overpay for the injury prone Frye? It might be a gamble worth taking.

Boris Diaw: after a dynamic finals in which the Spurs spent large amounts of time running their offense through him, Diaw is suddenly drawing interest from multiple teams. In the finals, Diaw notched 6.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists off .364/.333/.500 shooting splits. One wonders why the Heat paid him so much attention when he was shooting that poorly, and let him rack up all those assists, but thankfully, they did. Over the course of the season, Diaw posted a 1.05 ORAPM, and a -.23 DRAPM, and was a solid cog in the Spurs machine. Remember that Diaw was bought out by the Bobcats in 2012, and San Antonio claimed him off the scrap heap? Well even going back to 2011, Diaw’s RAPM was never lower than -1, and he’s always been able to frustrate certain players (ahem, LeBron). But Diaw is 32, and I doubt the Spurs magic can be replicated on the Cavs.

Patrick Mills: another breakout Spurs star, Mills couldn’t even make it on the court last year, and was behind Corey Joseph on the depth chart in 2013. This last finals, he outplayed everyone on Miami’s bench when he scored 10.2 points in 15 minutes per game and shot .543/.565/.000 on his shooting splits. He made himself some money. In the full season, Mills posted a 1.33 RAPM, and an 18.8 PER. Patty was a very good bench scorer, scoring 7.3 points in 14.3 minutes a night. Mills is limited by his six-foot height, and one wonders why it took him till 25 to get in really good shape and improve himself as a player. Patty’s could be a solid addition if the Cavs end up losing some guards.

Marvin Williams: -.29 RAPM for the year on a bad Jazz team, and this is the best year of his career, at least in terms of RAPM. Marvin is a combo forward best known for being picked ahead of Chris Paul in 2005, but he can give you nine points and five rebounds in 25 minutes a night, while shooting .360 from three. Probably picks a contender ahead of the Cavs.

Trevor Ariza: Posted a very nice .93 RAPM with a 1.01 defensive split. Ariza had a good season as a very solid two way player and helped the Wiz make the playoffs. He was also a high productivity player, averaging 14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists to go along with shooting splits of .456/.407/.772 in 35 minutes a night. The problem with Ariza is twofold. First, he saves his best play for contract years. His RAPM was -1.15 in 2013, -1.63 in 2012, and -1.12 in 2011. It was 1.0 in 2010, his only season with Houston, and the first year of his now expiring contract.The second problem is that he’s been in the league 10 years and is now 29. His minute count is lower than it might be, as he’s missed significant time with injuries. If you’ll remember, Ariza rebuffed the Cavs in 2009, when LeBron wouldn’t help recruit him. I’m doubting the Cavs look more attractive now, given Ariza’s preference for warmer weather. Cavs reportedly have interest in the $8-$10 million dollar range. Just pay Miles half that.

Marcin Gortat: I’ve been singing Gortat’s praises for the last couple years. Gortat is a capable interior defender, a solid pick and roll partner, and mobile enough to keep up in today’s NBA. The Polish Hammer had a 1.85 DRAPM last year. He is a good post-up and help defender, and has improved as a pick-and-roll defender. He is also is the only option for interior defense in this entire free agency class. He should be priority number two after LeBron. Now I would be remiss if I didn’t note that Gortat posted some horrific RAPM numbers in the seasons previous to this one (-2 to -3). And he’s 30. But unless the Cavs are going to trade, he’s their only hope for a defensive center upgrade. The Cavs should be prepared to overpay if they want him.

Conclusions

My choices? Marcin Gortat, C.J. Miles, Al-Faruq Aminu, Anthony Morrow, and Ryan Kelly. They give the Cavs two things they need: defense and shooting, and excepting of Gortat aren’t outrageously expensive. If the Cavs decide to move Tristan, Jeff Adrien would be a nice replacement. The Cavs can get quality players without breaking the bank on names (ahem, Ariza).

Corrections: This article was updated Tuesday morning to include newly published 2014 RAPM by @talkingpractice that included the entirety of the 2014 playoffs. Most RAPM numbers changed only slightly, but Patty Mills and Boris Diaw saw significant bumps while Gortat and Ariza saw non-trivial drops.

No mention of Pau Gasol? The Defense is still in need of a legit starter at center (sorry Tyler) and Blatt needs a passing big man (hell anyone that likes to pass) to make his offense click. Want to have some real enjoyment watching the Cavs next year: sign Gasol (Heat and Knicks can’t offer as much as Cavs and the Lakers are perpetually trying to trade him so no allegiance there) and then trade for Jose Calderon (the Knicks would be happy to be rid of his salary and the Cavs can afford it.) Our Euro coach could make his Euro offense sing.

I tried to write this article from a standpoint of positive RAPM players. I ignored players that I didn’t want. Gasol was a -1.26 RAPM player with a defensive split of -.2. In 2013 he was .19 with a defensive split of -.39. 2012 he was 1.18 with a defensive split of -.25. To be frank, Gasol is getting slightly worse every year, And he’s averaged 58 games a season in that span. He’s also 33. Gasol has never kept himself in the greatest shape, and doesn’t seem to show the commitment for maintaining his body in the offseason that guys like KG and Tim Duncan do. Giving Gasol anything other than short term money is just a bad idea. The best years of his career are behind him and he’s not a player that helps much on defense anymore.

Cavs want to contend now and their aren’t a lot of C’s available. My thinking over pay him for two years. Can’t argue that his play has declined but the Lakers situation was less than advantageous. You know, except for all that money he was making to play basketball. Thanks for taking the time to respond (destroy?) and please, keep up the good work.

Keep Miles. He shoots the 3 well and goes on scoring spurts as a rotational guy. For the price thats great value. They should sign Hayward from Utah and resign Hawes. They would probably need to restructure Andy’s contract which should be restructured given his playing time and injuries.

Miles seems like one of those guys that we are overrating because he’s a Cav. He wants more money, let him go and find another guy that can give you about what Miles did. No reason to overpay for players like that.

I agree with COLS—I think you will see Bennett start over t.t.—–can we do a sign and trade for deng ( at least get something in return for the rental )—hawes is a better option than the other bigs—-GET RID OF JACK BRING LIVINGSTON BACK—-believe we have a better option than mcroberts with POWELL—-try to get GORTAT brings toughnes and rim protection——in a perfect world LeBron comes back and love follows him to Cleveland ( o.k. I am awake now )

There will be no sign and trade for Deng….Sign and trade is for max players, Deng is not getting a max deal. Why would Deng sign a deal with the CAVS when he can just sign the same deal anywhere. Why would any team trade for Deng when they can just sign him as an UFA for about 12-15 million a year? Trading for Deng, to make the playoffs with Mike Brown as coach, was probably the dumbest thing since hiring Mike Brown a second time (dumbest decision in NBA history, IMO). Mike Brown, Jesus, his name p!%%es me off along with Danny Ferry The Blatt hire basically brought K.I. back, IMO. I don’t know what goes thru Dan Gilbert’s mind, but Danny Ferry and Mike Brown are the two variables that facilitated Lebron’s flight. Mike Brown has always been an idiot and I feel sorry that Lebron and CAVS fans had to play/watch with Brown as coach.

Hopefully, this new GM has the CAVS on the right track. I am pretty happy so far.

If I am the CAVS, I am overpaying for a SF. Or see what Blatt thinks about Zeller, if he does not like, then Gortat should be a priority. (Resigning Hawes is a given).

Honestly I think Miles is underrated. Hasn’t he had the best (or close to it) plus/minus on the team since we signed him? Doesn’t sound like Gortat can be pried away from Was, but re-signing Miles to Gee’s old contract (or something similar) would be a steal and should be a high priority.

Nah. He’s overrated by Cavs fans becuase he’s a Cav. Every team’s fans overrate their own players. It happens. He’ll either sign for a reasonable amount of money or you let him go and trust your scouts to find another Miles.

Yeo. Would love to have Miles back. Fans can get attached to their players and ignore glaring problems (like Thompsons inability to stretch the floor or guards stretch 4’s) but I certainly don’t think that’s the case with Miles.

CJ was the starting SG before he got hurt. He surely fits if Jack is traded (or he should at least get Jack’s minutes). He lights it up on occasion. His problem is that he doesn’t know how good he is. Furthermore, I think he WANTS to be a Cav. Get him at a bargain.

agree that hawes seemed to enjoy playing here ( and especially with kyrie ) also feel that he will flourish under blatts system and also defend better with lue’s coaching—-have always liked c.j. ( never complained –can light it up ) but think ariza might be a better fit/ help more

Ariza is going to cost north of $10M a year though, if rumors are correct. No thanks. The guy had one impressive season in a contract year. That would be a terrible signing if we land him for anything more than Jack’s contract.

Personally, I am hesitant to move any of the core players until we see what Blatt can get out of them. It takes a while to see what a lousy job MB was doing: DW and TZ made a nice step up, but KI and TT regressed. AB did little (maybe due to injuries?) and SK disappeared. EC was worthless and JJ was less than advertised. AV was his usual self. We do have to give MB credit for MD, both finding him and using him.

Admittedly I am a die hard optimist, but I expect several of the young players to make a huge step forward, particularly with a system (hopefully) designed to take advantage of what we have.

I misspoke (misread). Elhassan did a top 30 FA list with projected $$ and years. I thought I read Ariza projected at $10M or so. Elhassan actually projected him at $5.7M/year for 4 years. Not bad, actually. But I do think he’ll get closer to $10M.

Any more rumors on the Jack for whatshisface deal? That $6.3M salary looks really bad right now considering the projections some other FAs will get.

Even if Cleveland is unable to lure a big time FA like LeBron, we can wait for a team on the cusp of signing or S&T for a big name to need to shed some young talent to make room $$ wise. Then move a guy like Hopson who is 100% non-guaranteed and get a piece in return.

Also, I love AV, but if we need to shed $5M to make space for a guy like LeBron, make it happen.

I won’t dispute that Varejao has been injury prone for the last 4 years. However, when you’re looking at his games played totals for the last 4 years (31 in 10-11, 25 in 11-12, 25 in 12-13, and 65 in 13-14) you have to consider the mandate to lose games. He was held out for longer than necessary because it helped us win ping pong balls.

You saw our first attempt at being truly competitive last year, and he played for 80% of the season. Granted, 80% isn’t great but I believe this is more in line with what we could have seen (except for the pulmonary embolism) if we hadn’t been tanking.

When Andy broke his wrist, he and the organization elected to not have surgery and let it heal on its own. If it were 09-10 and we were making a title push, he would have had the surgery and been back for a stretch run.

It’s just that AV and LeBron are really good friends. And I think people greatly underestimate his contribution just because he is not a primary scorer.

He’s a stabilizing influence on the floor for us . . . and takes opponents out of their game by bugging the crap out of them. He’s also one of the better rebounders in the league – particularly on the offensive boards.

Unless you have someone to replace him – he’s worth $10MM to me. I mean, if it’s between keeping Varejao or Jack? (Somebody holding a lot of cap room for LeBron will pick up Jack once LeBron re-signs elsewhere.)

I’d like to see Varejao get his last big paycheck . . . re-sign for less when the young guys get the big ones . . . and finish his career here (with LeBron).

Furthermore, and this may be a stretch, but I’d to see Blatt turn Tristan Thompson into the new AV for us. AV was a very pedestrian, but high energy player for years, who became a key performer. I’d like to see TT become the new Varejao.

From what I remember the chemistry between AV and LeBron was undeniable in their heyday. AV can play a whole season or close to it with monitored minutes, and won’t be held out longer than he needs with the team fully out of tank-mode. Varejao isn’t a numbers guy but he has always made the team so much better when available. Keep the man a Cavs lifer!

I think we should resign Hawes and CJ (who will be a bargain in comparison to Ariza – who is good – but will mess up our salary structure. I mean, how do we offer Dion a nice contract after this year if we sign Ariza?)

If we don’t sign Hawes – Gortat and Kelly should become a priority.
If we don’t sign CJ – we should pursue Anthony Morrow (bargain) and Patty Mills. I think Morrow is underrated and would do well with minutes . . . and if he can get into a rhythm with a team.

If I were the GM I’d go real hard after SF Gordon Hayward (once it becomes apparent we won’t be getting LeBron). I think the guy is a gamer, a winner, a near all star who also makes everybody around him better. (I think he played his college ball in Indiana – at Butler – so he should feel right at home in Cleveland.)

Give us a year or two under Blatt and this team, with or without LeBron, can contend for the Conference. But more importantly (to me) – they’ll be a lot of fun to watch and root for.

Thank you for being the first place I have read a writer say that Wade opting out means he will make it up up under the table or post retirement. Nobody is that generous to give back money to a billionaire to save him from a luxury tax. As if he’s going to go from $42 million to $20 million and not expect a kickback down the road.

That organization was shady when they colluded to bring the corrupt 3 together and they are shady in trying to keep them together.

Gortat is gone. Lebron isn’t coming. Let’s get the best available young guys and compete. New guys emerge, maybe someone on the roster steps up under Blatt, maybe a February trade falls into our laps. BTW I don’t hear anyone touting the OKC model or Simmon’s uber athletes now. Hopefully Blatt and Griffin have fresh ideas.

“Former NBA coach Eric Musselman knows Dwight Powell well…And Musselman said the second-round pick — could be a steal.” Musselman, a coach at Arizona State coached against Powell.

“(Powell has) an NBA body and he’s a very underrated passer,” Musselman said.

Powell, 22, averaged 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds during his senior season. His Stanford team eliminated No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and Kansas from the NCAA tournament. “In college, Powell could play small forward, power forward or center.”

“Powell was a very tough matchup in the Pac-12. You’ll be able to put him in an NBA game as rookie.”

underdog—read the article ( sam amico on powell ) have said this tHE day of the draft / trade —he could be a big time sleeper—-go to DRAFTEXPRESS and it will give players profile—-powell was a BLATT PICK —–ATHLETIC / HIGH BASKETBALL I.Q.—-BEST PASSER FOR BIG MAN——WILL FIT VERY WELL IN BLATTS STLYE

I think he had to do a deal no matter what. He might have done 3 years with POs. I definitely buy that he’s more excited with Blatt/Lue. MB is a terrible development coach. And the team is full of young guys needing the right push.

I think I’m the one that said I would never pay attention to NBA rumors again. However, World Cup soccer is on and there’s not much more to do than check up what’s going on this first day of free agency:

“The Jazz clearly want to keep restricted free agent Gordon Hayward, but it seems like other teams will give them a run for their money. The Jazz are vowing to match any offer to Hayward gets but Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) is hearing fresh rumbles that the Cavs are thinking about giving the forward a hefty offer sheet.

The Celtics love Hayward too, but A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter) hears from a source that it’s “highly unlikely” that the Celtics will land him. That same source reiterated that the Jazz plan to match any offer sent his way. “

Cavs should sign him and and resign Hawes. Starting 5 of Kyrie, Hayward, Wiggins, Thompson, Hawes would be one of the best in the esat. Resign Miles then rotate Waiters, Miles, Verajo, and Zeller as the bench. That is a solid team. IF Wiggins shows up it should be playoffs easily in the east.

Kind of a bummer how the Cavs are striking out so far and how many guys are getting overpaid. The Cavs need to avoid the temptation to add mediocre free agents like Donyell Marshall, Larry Hughes, and Damon Jones. They’d be better off saving their cap space and using it to add players via trade during the season. Cleveland should look at trading for a non Larry Sanders shot-blocker.

I had a similar question to Cody. Who have we missed on? It seems like very little has happened so far. And I don’t see any deals that I wish the Cavs had made. Lots of money thrown at mediocre players.

Agreed. Gortat would have been a nice addition. But Wash will be paying him 12 mil/yr until he’s 36. It starts out fine, but I think they’ll be unhappy on the last two years of that contract. I don’t think the Cavs should have competed with the Wizards there.

For Ariza…I guess it’s like Gortat, a nice addition but the lack of quality at SF behind LeBron and Melo will cause a price hike.

I’d rather see them spend the money on Greg Monroe. Not the defender/rim protector that Gortat is, but better scoring in the paint and largely miscast in Detroit’s offense. To pull that off though, I think some money needs to come off the books. Might have to be Andy.

Cavs need to resign Spencer Hawes, bring in a guy like Hayward or Ariza, and simply drop some of their second team players in hopes to sign similar guy that perform better. Irvin, Wiggins, Hayward, Hawes, Verajo looks much better than the starting 5 listed. Its also realistic.

just read on basketballinsiders that hawes is very interested in Portland—–hoping cavs with all their cap money are smart but start to be aggressive with the free agents —-like the earlier blog mentioned we don’t need a collection of hughes/ marshalls / jones again

I don’t think Hawes is Donyell Marshall at all he is still much younger. Gordon from Utah is definitely not Larry Hughes. If you can add Hayward and resign Hawes for 10 mill each I’d do it in a heartbeat. Kyrie, Hayward, Wiggins, THompson, and Hawes. Rotation: Waiters, Miles, Zeller, Verajo. Maybe redo Verajo’s contract or drop him if you have to and let Zeller take his minutes to get Bennet in the swing.

One of the paragraphs of the article and a lot of my research reveals that Hawes’ teams are worse on offense and defense when he is on the floor. He’s a bad player who puts up good numbers and is not conducive to winning. Rather sign no-one than Hawes.

Hawes defensive flaws do not counterweight the unique skills he has as a center.

Zeller, while not a three point threat, has range to 17 feet, is willing to bang inside, and runs just as well, if no better. I’d rather give Zeller the minutes Hawes would command, at 1/3 of the salary.

Whatever we do, I just hope that we keep Delly. And that he gets an increase in minutes. The kid is like a mini-Andy and his shot started to come on towards the end of last year too. Plus I love how he pushes the floor. Also, I just read that we’re offering Hayward $15 million. I don’t get it, his shooting percentages aren’t that great, and I don’t see how he fits in the rotation unless it means getting rid of Dion and putting Wiggins at the 2, which I really hope we don’t do.

The Lineup: (Click for Author’s Archive)

Nate Smith is an Associate Editor. He grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and moved to NE Ohio in 2000. He adopted the Cavs in 2003 and graduated from Kent State in 2009 with a BA in English. He can be contacted at oldseaminer@gmail.com or @oldseaminer on Twitter.

Tom Pestak is an Associate Editor. He's from the west side of Cleveland and lives and (mostly) dies by the success and (mostly) failures of his beloved teams. You can watch his fanaticism during Cavs games @tompestak.

Robert Attenweiler is a Staff Writer. Originally from OH, he's long made his home in NYC where he writes plays and screenplays (www.disgracedproductions.com) some of which end up being about Ohio, basketball or both. He has also written for The Classical and the blog Raising the Cadavalier. You can contact him at rattenweiler@gmail.com or @cadavalier.

Benjamin Werth is a Staff Writer. He was born in Cleveland and raised in Mentor, OH. He now lives in Germany where he is an opera singer and actor. He can be reached at blfwerth@gmail.com.

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